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What to do when you’re just too stuck to get un-stuck

If you’re unfit, unhappy, stuck, stagnant, and you this you know exactly what to do to get out but can’t seem to put it into action. Stop beating yourself up about it, you are not alone – each of us experiences this regularly. All the self-development in the world won’t get rid of resistance to change, no matter how good for us that change may be. Years ago, I was stuck – in a life, relationship and town that didn’t work for me, at all. The tiredness and boredom created a spiral of inertia which made it impossible to move away from the things I did not want in my life. I knew what I needed to do, but didn’t have the energy to do it, not at all.

Stuck, with a capital S.

Since then, I’ve been stuck again – poor relationship choices, jobs that weren’t what they seemed to start with, living arrangements which were challenging to say the least. Getting stuck is part of life, it seems.

When you’re in a situation which doesn’t nourish you, it can feel pretty much impossible to get the momentum going to make a change.

You can end up waiting for an external rescue squad to get you out of the stuck place.

Sometimes, this arrives – but usually it does not.

We know it’s up to us to get out of the stuck place, but how can you when you are, well…………. STUCK?

If you are feeling like this right now, grab a nice cup of tea. Then, try these things (and the free guided visualisation at the bottom of this post):

Tea is a great cure for stuckness!

1) Love your stuckness.

Turn inward to the aching, tired, had-enough, can’t-fix-it parts of yourself and give them a huge dose of acceptance, affection and understanding.

It’s OK to be stuck. It’s OK not to be ready to change. Seriously.

No expectations, please, but this can help stuckness move – but don’t fall into the trap of getting back into snarky-with-yourself if it doesn’t. Sit with the self love even if it’s hard.

At the very least, you can feel better about it!

2) Small movements

When you are stuck, big movements seem impossible.

Even visioning big changes in your life can exhaust and demotivate you.

Think of one tiny step which will take you to the left or right of where you are right now. It can be to chat to somebody, or read an inspiring blog, or take a walk.

Small movements add up over time to make big changes, after all!

3) Breathe and soften

That feeling of being stuck can feel like a really hard lump in your chest, weighing you down and stopping you from being able to think clearly. Breathe into that feeling, pouring love and acceptance into it as you do so, and gently allow the feeling to soften.

Lean in, breathe in, let the feeling engulf you if you need to, and then wash right over you. Resisting stuckness only makes you feel more stuck, so let the stuckness happen.